BYU students and faculty learned about the political polarization of sexual assault at the first Global Women’s Studies Colloquium of Fall Semester 2024 on Friday, Sept. 13.
The research presented at the colloquium was conducted by members of the #MeToo movement.
Hayley Pierce, an associate professor of sociology at BYU, presented a research project that she participated in that took a random selection of about 5000 tweets with the hashtag #MeToo.
Pierce began her remarks by inviting one of her friends, Erin Rhees, to read a poem that captured the tone of her research. Pierce emphasized that sexual violence is “no respecter of persons” and affects everyone.
Pierce then introduced the #MeToo movement and walked students through how it began as an attempt to encourage “courage through community.”
Pierce shared the research that captured how language was used in tweets by both supporters and detractors of the movement, highlighting specific words, such as "due process," "justice," "accountability" and patterns of violent phrases.
“Twitter is an echo chamber,” Pierce said. “It gives us a lot of tools to understand this rhetoric.”
Pierce closed her presentation by recognizing that both supporters and detractors of the movement “drew upon specific language and narratives that further increased the polarization of sexual violence.”
“People were speaking past each other when we all realize that sexual assault is a problem,” Pierce said.
The BYU Kennedy Center hosts these colloquiums biweekly to encourage academic and communal growth of the collegiate community. The center also hopes to support students interested in Global Women’s Studies.
Heather Belnap, the newly appointed global women's studies coordinator at BYU, explained the purpose these discussions serve for the program.
“We want to highlight the good research and teaching that is being done on women here on campus across a variety of disciplines and introduce the larger community to that,” Belnap said.
Belnap welcomed the BYU community in its entirety to attend the colloquiums and believes they are an opportunity for academic growth.
“We also see it as an educational opportunity for other members on campus — faculty and students — to expand their horizons and hear about these important things,” Belnap said.
Students and faculty who participate in Global Women’s Studies colloquiums are introduced to other opportunities within the program. Hannah Bryan, the president of the Global Women’s Studies Honor Society at BYU, has been an active participant in program for two years and spoke to its value.
“It’s really helpful to know how to be more compassionate and learn that in an academic setting,” Bryan said.
Global Women’s Studies programs and classes give students opportunities to work together to benefit the world around them, Bryan said.
“I feel like Global Women’s Studies as a program offers people a lot of opportunities to connect with people who have similar goals but study a different subject,” Bryan said. “There’s a lot of potential for collaboration to learn more on an interdisciplinary scale: psychologists and biologists working with sociologists and family sciences researchers.”
The Global Women’s Studies colloquiums have been hosted by the Kennedy Center at BYU for many years. Belnap explained they continue to provide a “homebase” for people interested in the program.
“We hope that it’s community building, that it’s a magnet, that it’s a place that introduces people — who might not otherwise come within our orbit — to the program,” Belnap said.
The next colloquium will feature Colleen McDannell, a professor at the University of Utah on Friday, Sept. 27. Her remarks will be titled “Reading Sister Saints: A Conversation on Modern Mormon Women."
Global Women’s Studies colloquiums are held at noon in 238 HRCB every other Friday. Participants can attend in person or watch on zoom here.